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“No hold up,” I answer, even if it’s not the truth.
I should know better than to lie to Charleigh.
“Dude, it’s not like this is an action film. Other than the emotional range, it’s probably the easiest film you’ll do. You literally are courting a girl, dancing with her, making lo—” She cuts herself off with a gasp. “It’s your first major sex scene, isn’t it? This isn’t a fade to black. This is, like, the real deal.” She moves her hands in front of her, accentuating ‘real deal’ as if I need the visual to feel the enormity of the situation.
I scoff. “I’m not afraid of a sex scene.” And I’m not.
Not really.
I mean, it would be better if I could do it with someone I had mild chemistry with, which is the furthest from the truth when it comes to Blake Addams.
I’m a twenty-one-year-old male. I have no qualms of getting it on—even in pretend—with a woman. But at least make the woman tolerable. I can deal with pranks and eating garlic before a scene but…
Pinpointing what I dislike about Blake is difficult; I just know I don’t care for the woman. My intuition on people has never steered me wrong.
“What if,” Charleigh cuts through my thoughts, only to take a pause. She lifts her brows and points to me, “What if you tell Tim that you get the final say on the new girl.” Charleigh and I share a lot with one another, and the moment it was rumored that Blake was looking at other projects, I’d told her. “Hell, Cade, they want you. You should be able to have some sort of say in the casting.”
“Not sure that’s how this works.”
“Trust me, this is how this works. Well, not all the time, but demands are easy. They’re going to write off the project otherwise, yeah?”
“Well, I don’t know that—”
Charleigh doesn’t let me finish. “If Blake can’t do it now, the project will be pushed off longer, and the more it’s delayed, the more likely the entire thing will be cancelled. Demand a change in casting.”
* * *
I’d like to say that I didn’t give in to Charleigh.
That I’d been okay with letting the film rot off to where films went to die.
But I can’t say that.
Because I did give in to Charleigh, and two days later, I found myself opening my condo to not only Tim, but to the film’s casting director.
“This isn’t typical,” Tim grunts as he leads the redhead wearing business attire toward my couch. “Don’t get used to it. This is Sydney. She’s in charge of casting.”
I close the door and limp, purposely, toward the coach. Tim watches and groans, but the woman watches me with her eyes narrowed. For the briefest of moments, I wonder if my limp is too exaggerated but then I stumble.
And the pain is real, radiating from my toes to my hip and across my lower back.
So, fuck if I care.
The woman says nothing, but Tim groans again. “Dammit, Cade, they need you on set. Sit down.”
“We were going to contact the next on our list, when Tim made your demands known,” Sydney says as she sets up her laptop. “It’s my responsibility to be sure we have leads who pair well together, so if I need to, I will go against your word.” The lady is clearly the no-nonsense type.
I slowly lower myself to the coach next to Sydney, trying to keep my mind off the current pain. “Then why are we here? If you won’t listen to who I want, and you choose someone who I don’t care for, then why are we doing this?”
She looks at me, staring. It makes me want to squirm in my spot, but I hold still.
I do, however, lift a brow, as if I can meet her silent challenge.
“My life is surrounded by men like you,” she finally says, her eyes locked on mine and daring me to look away. “I know stubborn men. I know annoying men. I know men who refuse to bend, but eventually do because they know what’s best for them. I’ve got your number, Cade Johnston.” She looks away then and I can’t help but be slightly uncomfortable. “These ladies are the best ten. Hopefully you think you can work with one of them.” She doesn’t sound convinced but still, she plays the audition recordings for me.
We watch through the tapes, re-watching some and re-playing lines. Nine auditions in, and I’m convinced that this movie is not for me.
I can’t picture myself having chemistry with any of these women.
